In well known machines designed to shape the back part of footwear, bending has been effected using as shaper by introducing the back of the footwear on a metal last (or punch) and then putting the last in contact with the curved element or the shaper under conditions of pressure. Quite often, the machine works on pairs of footwear and generally comprises on the same frame and in the upper part of the machine, two stations for the hot reactivation of a glue for assembly of the constitutive elements of the footwear. In the lower part of the machine, the double shaper/punch station is adapted to perform the bending and stabilizing operation at a low temperature.
These prior art machines are particularly suitable for making current footwear in which the back parts do not exhibit a very long bend, as for example, footwear for men. However, when shoes with long counters are involved as, for example, women's high-heel shoes, this known apparatus can work only on the back part of the counter and does not assure the correct shape of the bend that extends over this latter counter. To obtain this long bend, it is necessary to utilize either prebent counters obtained by preliminary fabrication or to use so-called "chemical" counters, i.e. those which are soaked in a solvent to soften them and are then worked on a wood punch to provide them with the necessary shape.